Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Losing time - P.R. Ford

I have to admit that science fiction, which is what this book would probably be classified as, isn't something that I naturally reach for. Having said that, I do enjoy Dr Who, the odd Star Trek, Star Wars and similar, so it's not completely off the scale, but it's certainly not something I often read. The idea of this book though, interested me, so I decided to give it a go.

Helen's father disappeared years before, when she was just a teenager, seeming to leave the world without a trace. Now in her 30's she suddenly receives a post card and other items that hint that he may have been in Ireland, she sets off to see if she can find any clues to where he went.

Strange things start to happen to Helen, she finds herself in different times and dimensions and it becomes clear that this is all somehow linked to what happened to her father and where he went.

As Helen investigates and learns more about the alien people that she comes in contact with, it seems that she has more chance of finding where her father went and what happened. She also starts to learn more about who she is. At the same time, someone or something seems to be hunting her. Who are they? What do they want? What is it about Helen that they seem to need?

There was a lot going on in this book, new worlds and dimensions, as well parts of the book which took place in the past. It would have been very easy to get lost in the whole story and array of characters, but the story kept me gripped and wanting to know what was going to happen. There was a small section in the middle, which I felt was perhaps a little bit slow moving, and could possibly have benefited from being edited down a little bit to keep up the pace of the narrative, but it certainly wasn't enough to make me want to stop reading, and things soon picked up again.

The only real down side to the story, was that it left a lot of things hanging at the end, which of course just makes me want to read the next instalment, and sadly I'm going to have to wait for that to be written. A great first book though, recommended.